This page assesses correlations between HIV program metrics and Advanced HIV Disease (AHD) across Malawi. It draws on data from 843 facilities across Malawi, including:

  1. Low CD4 counts (< 200 cells / mm3), measured at 133 facilities;
  2. High viral loads (> 1,000 copies / mL) from routine testing, measured at 729 facilities;
  3. High viral loads (> 1,000 copies / mL) from targeted testing, measured at 361 facilities;
  4. Default rates among the ART treatment cohort, available 741 facilities.

Each of these metrics are explored in the sections below.

CD4 counts

CD4 counts are measured at 133 facilities with existing AHD services across Malawi. An additional 28 facilities were excluded for reporting low CD4 rates of 0% or 100%, or for having a sample size of less than ten.

The map below shows rates of low CD4 counts across health facilities with AHD services:


Viral load (routine)

The map below shows rates of high viral load from routine testing across health facilities, measured at 729 facilities across Malawi. An additional 41 facilities with viral load sample sizes of less than ten were excluded from these plots.

The scatterplot below shows the relationship between high viral load rates and low CD4 count rates across health facilities for which both measurements are available. The size of each point corresponds to the number of valid viral load test results reported from that facility in 2024.


Viral load (targeted)

The map below shows rates of high viral load from targeted testing across health facilities, measured at 361 facilities across Malawi. An additional 409 facilities with viral load sample sizes of less than ten were excluded from these plots.

The scatterplot below shows the relationship between high viral load rates and low CD4 count rates across health facilities for which both measurements are available. The size of each point corresponds to the number of valid viral load test results reported from that facility in 2024.


ART cohort default rate

The map below shows ART cohort default rates measured at 741 health facilities across Malawi. An additional 97 facilities with reported default rates >20% or ART cohort sizes less than ten were excluded from these plots.

The scatterplot below shows the relationship between ART cohort treatment interruption rates and low CD4 count rates across health facilities for which both measurements are available:


ART cohort size

The scatterplot below shows the relationship between average ART cohort size in 2024 and low CD4 count rates across health facilities where both measurements are available:


Metrics by facility

The following table summarizes all metrics across the 843 health facilities with ART services across Malawi:

Created for the RESPOND Project, 2025.